‘the Great Pilgrimage to Jerusalem’

Plans for “The Great Pilgrimage to Jerusalem”– on American Zionist Federation project that aims to bring 1000 American Jews to Israel’s capital for a three-day conference Nov. 17-20 — were announced yesterday at a news conference here.

Rabbi Joseph Sternstein, AZF president, said the Carter Administrations support of the UN Security Council resolution last Saturday condemning Israel “dramatically underscores the need for a great demonstration of solidarity and support with Israel on the crucial question of Jerusalem.”

Jerusalem must remain united under Israeli sovereignty. Sternstein said. “Our purpose in mobilizing The Great Pilgrimage to Jerusalem is to make sure that the American people and the American government understand the depth of Jewish sentiment on this issue,” he said.

Rabbis and members of 100 Conservative, Orthodox and Reform congregations across the country are expected to take part in The Great Pilgrimage, according to the three co-chairmen of the event, representing each of the three major branches of Judaism: Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld (Reform) of Fairmount Temple, Cleveland; Rabbi Seymour Cohen (Conservative) of Anshe Emet Synagogue, Chicago; and Rabbi Haskel Lookstein (Orthodox) of Congregation Kehillath Jeshurun, New York. Lookstein is currently in Israel helping complete arrangements for the Great Pilgrimage.

Lelyveld, the current chairman of the Synagogue Council of America, said The Great Pilgrimage would underscore “the place of Jerusalem in the faith and history of the Jewish people.” it would serve, he said, as a “significant educational tool, solidifying American Jewish sentiment and, at the same time, as a morale booster for our fellow-Jews in Israel.”